Maintaining repeater accuracy for satellite signal delivery systems

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for maintaining synchronization of repeater networks with Global Positioning System (GPS) signals using phase locked loops (PLLs) and based on generation of predicted control words for controlling local oscillator frequencies is described. The predicted control words can be generated based on performing a linear fit of control words generated over a predetermined duration of time. Phase locked loops with additional false GPS pulse identification and GPS signal loss compensation circuitry can enforce a false pulse count threshold and/or an error threshold. The additional circuitry and prediction of control words can overcome errors in GPS receiver outputs and maintain accuracy of signal timings across single frequency networks using inexpensive local oscillators.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/703,219, filed on Jul. 25, 2018, the contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present subject matter relates to maintaining timing accuracy ofterrestrial repeaters during intermittent loss of satellite signalreception. Techniques using modified phase locked loop (PLL) circuitryfor false Global Positioning System (GPS) pulse identification,satellite signal loss compensation, slew adjustments, delay adjustments,and rapid pulse lock-on strategies for maintaining the timing accuracyof the repeaters are described.

BACKGROUND

Satellite signal delivery systems, such as Sirius XM, can include twohigh power geostationary satellites facilitating telecommunication overlarge terrestrial zones, such as continental United States. Terrestrialreceivers that form part of the satellite signal delivery system canexperience degradation in signal quality received from the geostationarysatellites in dense urban areas where manmade structures may impedesatellite signal transmissions that rely on line-of-sight communicationchannels. Degradation and/or loss of satellite signal reception in suchdense urban areas necessitates development of techniques for maintainingterrestrial repeater timing accuracy so as to maintain performance ofthe satellite signal delivery system.

A complementary ground component (CGC) signal, derived from a thirdparty, such as a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT), and/or fromself-reception of Sirius XM's high band signal, can be used tocomplement the satellite signal in dense urban areas and minimize thedegradation and/or consequences of loss of the satellite signal. The CGCsignal can be a Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (COFDM)signal.

A Single Frequency Network (SFN) can be used for sending the CGC signalto the receiver. The SFN needs to maintain a precise center frequency,symbol rate and/or launch timing parameters for the CGC signal foraccurately complementing the satellite signal and/or minimizingconsequences of disruptions in reception of the satellite signal. Thiscan be achieved by the SFN based on using a stable reference signal,such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) signal. GPS signals provideglobal coverage and/or Stratum level 1 timing accuracies.

In dense urban areas, reception of GPS signals can be lostintermittently and/or over prolonged durations of time. In suchscenarios, satellite signal delivery systems, such as the Sirius XM thatrely on terrestrial repeaters of a SFN for broadcasting data signals,need to maintain highly accurate timing requirements to preventdegradation of signal quality delivered to users.

For example, the Sirius XM system may need to maintain a timing accuracywithin approximately +/−10 Hz for a 10 MHz reference signal over a 1hour duration for reliable signal transmissions. Considering there are10e⁶×3600 clock edges over the 1 hour duration for the 10 MHz referencesignal, a timing requirement of 10/36 Parts Per billion or approximately⅓ Parts Per billion accuracy is needed. Over a 24 hour duration, the 1microsecond drift corresponds to an accuracy requirement ofapproximately 6.6×10⁻⁹, which approaches Stratum level 2 timingaccuracies of 1×10⁻¹⁰.

Achieving the Stratum level 2 timing accuracy can be accomplished byusing a local oscillator (e.g., rubidium based atomic standard) that hasa hold over accuracy equal to Stratum 2 or better. Rubidium based localoscillator systems are highly expensive and undesirable to use,particularly in a high volume product.

Moreover, under adverse conditions of loss of GPS signal and/or errorsin GPS receiver outputs, local oscillators with accuracy correspondingto Stratum 2 or higher, may fail to achieve synchronization of Stratum 2or higher across the SFN. As such, there is a need to devise solutionsfor establishing accurate reference signals using low cost componentsthat ignore potentially faulty information provided by the GPSreceivers.

SUMMARY

In accordance with some embodiments of the present subject matter, amethod for synchronizing a local reference signal with a GlobalPositioning System (GPS) signal is described. The synchronization can bebased on detecting a plurality of timing offsets between the GPS signaland the local reference signal and generating a plurality of controlwords corresponding to the timing offsets. The method may estimate anamount of time during which the local reference signal was synchronizedwith the GPS signal and after identifying an interruption in the GPSsignal, a predicted control word based on the plurality of control wordsand based on the amount of time satisfying a first predetermined timeduration can be generated.

In some embodiments, the method includes maintaining, via a feedbackpath, synchronization of the local reference signal with the GPS signalbased on the predicted control word. The method may include controllinga slew voltage based on the predicted control word and adjusting afrequency of the local reference signal based on the slew voltage.

In some embodiments, responsive to determining that the amount of timeduring which the local reference signal was synchronized with the GPSsignal satisfies a second predetermined time duration less than thefirst predetermined time duration, the method may generate a secondorder estimate of the predicted control word based on the plurality ofcontrol words. The method can further maintains synchronization of thelocal reference signal with the GPS signal based on the second orderestimate of the predicted control word. A linear curve fit can begenerated based on the plurality of control words.

In some embodiments, the present subject matter provides a method fordetermining an absence of synchronization of the local reference signalwith the GPS signal after determining an interruption in the GPS signal.The method adjusts a frequency of the local reference signal based on amost recent control word of the plurality of control words.

In some embodiments, the method maintains synchronization of the localreference signal with the GPS signal based on the adjusted frequency ofthe local reference signal.

In some embodiments, the present subject matter provides a systemcomprising a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver configured togenerate a GPS signal and a computing device configured to receive, fromthe GPS receiver, the GPS signal. The system can synchronize a localreference signal with the GPS signal based on a plurality of controlwords and determine an amount of time during which the local referencesignal was synchronized with the GPS signal. After identifying aninterruption in the GPS signal, the system can generate a predictedcontrol word based on the plurality of control words and based on theamount of time satisfying a first predetermined time duration.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present subject matter, amethod for synchronizing a local signal with a Global Positioning System(GPS) signal based on a plurality of control words is described. Afterdetecting a loss of the GPS signal, the method determines that the localsignal was synchronized with the GPS signal before the loss of the GPSsignal, and continues to maintain synchronization between the localsignal and the GPS signal based on the plurality of control words andbased on adjusting a frequency of the local signal.

In some embodiments, after determining that the local signal was notsynchronized with the GPS signal before the loss of the GPS signal, themethod determines a most recent control word of the plurality of wordsand adjusts a frequency of the local signal based on the most recentcontrol word.

In some embodiments, adjusting the frequency of the local signal can bebased on determining that an amount of time corresponding to ageneration of the plurality of control words satisfies a predeterminedduration of time and then generating a predicted control word based onthe plurality of control words.

In some embodiments, generation of the predicted control word can bebased on generating a linear curve fit of the plurality of controlwords.

In some embodiments, adjusting the frequency of the local signal can bebased on determining that an amount of time corresponding to ageneration of the plurality of control words does not satisfy apredetermined duration of time and generating a second order word basedon the plurality of control words, wherein the second order wordcomprises an average value associated with the plurality of controlwords. The plurality of control words can be generated based ondetecting a plurality of timing offsets between the GPS signal and thelocal signal.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages will be apparent from the description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the inventive embodiments, reference ismade to the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows an example use case of a phase locked loop (PLL).

FIG. 2 shows an example of timing errors in a single frequency network(SFN).

FIG. 3 shows an example of a PLL circuit with positional errordetection.

FIG. 4 shows an example of variations in control word values over timefor a PLL circuit.

FIG. 5 shows an example of variations in control word values over timefor a PLL circuit with fine frequency adjustments.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a PLL circuit implementation with saturationdetection and gear shifting.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary PLL circuit implementation with falsereference pulse detection and slew control.

FIG. 8 shows an example of PLL digital control word variations withtime.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary PLL circuit with prediction control logic.

FIG. 10 shows an example of predicted PLL digital control wordvariations in time.

FIGS. 11A-C illustrate an exemplary process flow diagram that may beused for maintaining repeater accuracy in accordance with someembodiments of the present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, the present subject matter is directed to methodsand systems for maintaining timing accuracies of repeater stationsduring intermittent and/or faulty reception of GPS reference signals.

There remain a number of issues that need to be addressed tosuccessfully achieve, and maintain, Stratum 1 timing quality at repeaterstations. For example, right after the PLL circuits have been powered ONand/or initialized at the repeater station, the PLL circuits have nocomparative positional and/or timing information associated with thelocal 1 PPS pulse train 114 and the UTC 1 PPS pulse train 110. This lackof information can result in arbitrarily large positional and/or timingerrors between the local pulse train and the UTC pulse train and canlead to very long PLL lock-on times for synchronization purposes.

As another example, a feedback control loop associated with the PLLcircuit 102 needs to take into account a time delay between thecomparative positional and/or timing information measurement and acorrective action undertaken by the PLL circuit 102 for achievingsynchronization. Adjusting the positional and/or timing of the localoscillator, via the control loop, every 1 PPS may actually extend thePLL lock-on time, as will be explained in more detail below.

As another example, application of new control voltage values to thelocal oscillator that cause rapid changes to the local oscillatorfrequency can result in a frequency shock. This can cause digital logicto not meet timing closures, resulting in logic errors in the repeaterstation circuits. Therefore, rapid changes to the local oscillatorfrequency should be avoided, particularly if high speed digitalcircuitry is being used.

As another example, and perhaps most critically, a GPS receiver may notalways be a reliable source of accurate UTC 1 PPS pulses. Varying GPSreception conditions (e.g., due to man-made obstructions and loss ofclear line-of-sight communications) can result in the GPS receiver 101inadvertently outputting inaccurate 1 PPS pulses positioned incorrectlyin time with respect to the true UTC 1 PPS pulses. For example, anindustry leading GPS receiver may output 1 PPS pulses that can be off by10's to 100's of microseconds from true UTC second marks. This degree oferror leads to disastrous results for a SFN such as the Sirius XM.

Lastly, loss of GPS reception, by the GPS receiver 101, leads to loss ofthe UTC 1 PPS pulse train 110. Under such conditions the localoscillator 105 is expected to maintain timing accuracy of the clockreference signal 114. The subject matter disclosed herein solves each ofthe problems above in a simplistic and cost effective manner.

FIG. 1 shows an example block diagram 100 of a PLL circuit 102 that isconnected to a GPS receiver 101, a precision digital-to-analog converter(DAC) 103, and a local oscillator 105, for generating a clock signal115. The PLL circuit 102 receives pulses 110 from the GPS receiver 101and compares occurrences of edge transitions of each of the pulses 110with edge transitions of pulses of a clock reference 114 generated bythe local oscillator 105. The PLL circuit 102 can align the occurrencesof the edge transitions of each of the pulses 110 with the edgetransitions of the clock reference 114.

The local oscillator 105 can be an oven oscillator that generatespulses, such as the 10 MHz clock reference 114, at adjustablefrequencies. The comparison performed by the PLL circuit 102 can bebased on comparing a position in time of a pulse 110 generated by theGPS receiver 101 with a position in time of a pulse locally generated bythe local oscillator 105. The comparison performed by the PLL circuit102 can generate a PLL output that is supplied to the precision DAC 103.The PLL output can include a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) controlword 111 that directs the DAC 103 to generate an analog output 112 foradjusting a frequency of operation of the local oscillator 105. The SPIcontrol word 111 can translate to an incremental control voltage varyingbetween 0 V and 3.3 V, such as approximately 45 μV, for adjusting thefrequency of operation of the local oscillator 105.

The precision DAC 103 may generate a control voltage 112 that is basedon the SPI control word 111. A low-pass filter 104 uses the analogcontrol voltage 112 generated by the precision DAC 103 to generate afiltered control voltage 113 for controlling the frequency of pulsesgenerated by the local oscillator 105. The low-pass filter 104 canremove high frequency noise components from the control voltage 112 togenerate the filtered control voltage 113.

The GPS receiver 101 may generate Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)pulses 110 with a timing of one pulse per second (1 PPS) based on a GPSreference signal. Edge transitions of the generated pulses 110 are ofimportance for accurately determining timing information with respect toUTC. Considering that GPS receivers can output the 1 PPS pulses withpositional error variances of approximately 20-30 ns, a clock multipleof 10 can be used to generate a local oscillator frequency of 100 MHz.This provides a positional sampling resolution of approximately 10 ns,which is lower than the positional error variances of the GPS receiver.Although the local oscillator can be used for generating a higher clockrate (e.g., 100 MHz clock reference), positional measurement accuracycan be increased by applying a multiplier to the clock rate.

FIG. 2 shows timing errors between the UTC 1 PPS reference signal 110generated by the GPS receiver and the clock reference signal 114. Asshown is FIG. 2, there is an initial offset error (d0), which can bemeasured in elapsed 100 MHz clock edges from the received UTC 1 PPSreference signal 110. Similar errors are shown to emphasize increase intiming error magnitude as the signals progress in time, for example,from d1 to d4. The PLL circuit 102 adjusts the local oscillator signal114 to synchronize the local pulses generated by the local oscillator105 with the pulses corresponding to the UTC 1 PPS reference signal 110.

After the local clock signal 114 pulse train is synchronized with thereference signal 110 pulse train, the local clock, such as theoscillator 114, has information regarding exact occurrence of a UTCsecond event. For example, after synchronizing the local pulse trainwith the UTC pulse train, the oscillator 114 has sufficient timinginformation for predicting an occurrence of a next UTC pulse. Suchsynchronization is necessary for maintaining signal quality transmittedvia a single frequency network (SFN).

FIG. 3 shows an example of a PLL circuit 300 with positional errordetection circuitry 301 that continuously tracks positional errorsmeasured between the true UTC 1 PPS 110 and the locally generated 1 PPSoriginating from the local oscillator 105. The positional errors mayvary from −50E⁶ to 50E⁶ based on a 100 MHz reference clock pulse traingenerated by a clock multiplier 303 that multiplies the local oscillatorfrequency by a predetermined integer value. The measured positionalerrors can be supplied to a proportional plus integral feedback controlloop that generates control word values sent to the precision DAC. Forexample, the proportional plus integral feedback control loop can applyproportional coefficient K1 and integral coefficient K2, and includeunit delay circuitry 307. With judicious selection of K1 and K2 values,the feedback control loop can typically reach convergence and thepositional errors can remain near zero indefinitely.

FIG. 4 Using appropriate loop gains (K1 & K2), the convergence of such aloop can be illustrated in the next two figures. FIG. 4 depicts a cold,intentionally under-damped startup condition. This is a typical power onscenario where there is no knowledge of UTC alignment and the oven isheating to its normal operational temperature (typically around 75 C).After approximately 1/10 of an hour, the control voltage begins to levelout, indicating one is close to frequency/phase lock to the UTC pulsetrain.

FIG. 5 shows a short time snippet of variations in control word valuesof the PLL circuit over time. Over this short time snippet, the localoscillator 105 is locked-onto the GPS UTC signal. The local oscillator105 can be an oven-controlled crystal oscillator (OCXO) with a controlvoltage range of +/−1.5 V. The fluctuations in control word values canbe a result of the feedback control loop following outside influences,such as inherent positional errors introduced by the GPS receiver ofapproximately +/−20-30 ns and the ambient and/or oven temperaturefluctuations experienced by the local oscillator 105. The plot in FIG. 5depicts the PLL circuit maintaining stratum level 1 timing quality. Suchperformance will continue indefinitely, provided the GPS signal ispresent.

It can be noted that the variations in the control word values shown inFIG. 5 correspond to extremely fine frequency adjustments to the localoscillator 105. The precision DAC analog output 112 may cover a digitalcontrol range of approximately +/−32768. A typical OCXO may pull +/−1PPM over the full control voltage translating to an incrementalfrequency adjustment of approximately 1/32 parts per billion. Using astandard 10 MHz OCXO this translates to incremental adjustments of0.0003 Hz. The digital control words can be cyclic, with a peak to peakrange of about 15 control words, which implies a tracking adjustment tomaintain stratum level 1 timing quality of approximately +/−2 mHz.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a PLL circuit implementation 600 withsaturation detection for rapid synchronization of a local oscillatorpulse train with the true UTC pulse train 110. Upon power up of thecircuit 600, a local oscillator (e.g., the OCXO) will typically providethe reference signal. The reference signal pulses can be arbitrarily offin time with respect to the UTC pulse train because on power-up, thelocal oscillator would not be synchronized with the UTC pulse train. Aninitial phase offset between the reference signal pulses and the UTCpulse train can correspond to approximately +/−50 million clock edges.

As the PLL circuit 600 is not locked to the GPS reference signalgenerated by a GPS receiver providing the true UTC pulse train 110, afirst step to enable quick lock-on is to include a saturation counter.The saturation counter can be incremented whenever a measured positionalerror exceeds a predefined error saturation threshold. The measuredpositional error can be based on a timing comparison of clock edges ofthe UTC pulse train with clock edges of the local oscillator clocksignal.

While incrementing a count of the saturation counter, if large errorsare measured, the local oscillator may be too far off in timing accuracyto be pulled to synchronization in a timely manner. The large errormeasured can be zeroed, prohibiting the PLL circuit 600 from making anyadjustments. After a predefined saturation count threshold 610, the PLLcircuit 600 forces a reset 611 of its local counters 603 to startcounting on the very next UTC 1 PPS pulse. This process will continue tooccur until the local oscillator is fairly close to a desired pulserate, such as 10 MHz. This is particularly helpful during a cold startup, wherein the local oscillator is considerably off in pulse frequencyand an oven associated with the local oscillator is heating to a desiredoperating temperature (e.g., approximately 75° C.). This approach allowsfor far faster GPS synchronization than methods provided by pastequipment vendors. For example, synchronization of the local oscillatorpulse train with the UTC pulse train may require 10 minutes as comparedto 30 minutes or longer without the implementation of the saturationcounter and predetermined error thresholds.

The error saturation detector 602 continuously monitors the error andincrements its counter if the error threshold is exceeded. If thesaturation count threshold 610 is reached after consecutively largeerrors have been detected, a reset 611 to the locally generated pulsetrain is performed. This is a major event that needs to be detected tohalt transmission of signals, as it indicates an incorrect timingrelationship to the GPS reference signal. Under normal operation thesaturation detection circuit should only need to operate after ahardware reset event.

As part of the rapid lock-on strategy, the PLL circuit 600 takesadvantage of a gear shifting policy. To avoid excessive clock chatter,it is desirable to use PLL gains as low as possible, provided one cancontinue to follow variances due to GPS positional error, oventemperature variation that can cause oscillator frequency variations,ambient temperature drift and so on. Unfortunately, using minimal gainswill prolong the initial lock on time to GPS. A compromise is to use aset of acquisition gains, such as (K1 a and K2 a), larger than a set oftracking gains, such as (K1 t and K2 t), shown in FIG. 6. For example,the set of acquisition gains, (K1 a and K2 a), can be larger than theset of tracking gains (K1 t and K2 t) by a factor varying betweenapproximately 10 to 1000.

Tracking gains are only used after the local oscillator is sufficientlyclose to the true UTC 1 PPS time pulses. This is determined by comparingarrival of pulses from the GPS receiver with the pulses locallygenerated by the local oscillator. If both phase and frequency lock havebeen achieved, the error difference between these two pulse trains willconsistently be near zero. A lock detection circuit 606 is used to counta number of consecutive times an absolute differential error is below athreshold (e.g., lock error threshold). If the count equals or exceeds asecond threshold (e.g., lock count threshold), phase lock is declared.Once lock is established, the PLL gains can be switched from the largeracquisition gains, to the smaller tracking gains. Both sets of gains canbe chosen to ensure feedback control loop stability.

FIG. 7 shows an example implementation of a PLL circuit 400 withadditional circuitry to implement control voltage slewing and falsepulse avoidance. It is highly undesirable to move a local oscillator'sfrequency in large quantized jumps because the large quantized jumps cancause oscillator “shock.” Oscillator “shock” leads to asymmetrical clockedge spacing which is not desirable in modern digital logic design. Theasymmetrical clock edge spacing and/or large changes in the local clockfrequency can lead to violations in expected timing relationships, whichin turn can lead to metastability and ultimately degrade the circuitperformance. This problem can be avoided by slowly changing the controlvoltage to gradually approach new control settings by slewing thecontrol voltage in FIG. 7 from its last value to its new setting usingsmallest possible incremental steps. The smallest increment possible isdictated by a resolution of the DAC used. High precision DACs typicallyuse 16 bit or higher precision, which can be typically scaled to providean external control voltage swing of 3 Volts. Single digit increments ofthe control word can be the smallest possible steps. Larger variationsfrom the previous control word to a current control word value willrequire a longer slew time. This action is desired, as large frequencydeltas can be forced to be adjusted over proportionally longerintervals. Incremental slewing always guarantees a constant voltage rateof change, avoiding violating digital timing closure requirements.

Slewing a control voltage can require an appreciable amount of time forthe control voltage to reach a final desired value. For example, slewingthe control voltage may require milliseconds of time, as opposed to aninstantaneous jump. During this slew period, the local oscillator isadjusting its frequency in response to the changing control voltage. Theadjustments to the local oscillator frequency influence a difference inarrival time between the GPS 1 PPS and the locally generated 1 PPS.Therefore, varying frequency values of the local oscillator during theslew period should not be measured and/or stored for estimating a nextslew control voltage. Local oscillator frequencies can be measured afterthe local oscillator has reached a new steady state value (e.g., anadjusted steady-state frequency). According to an exemplary aspect ofthe invention, the subject matter disclosed herein implements a delayedPLL for introducing a delay in local oscillator frequency measurementsover the slew period.

After adjustments to the local oscillator frequency are made, adifference between the next two pulse trains is observed (e.g., adifference in arrival of a next pulse between the local 1 PPS and thetrue 1 UTC PPS can be measured). A new control word is generated and thePLL slews to this new value. This procedure can be repeatedindefinitely, producing a measurement error and the PLL is updated everytwo seconds avoiding incorrect measurement differences while the slewingprocess is taking place.

One of the most troublesome aspects of synchronizing to a GPS receiveris handling pulses that may be appreciably offset from the true UTCsecond mark. Many applications can accommodate a GPS receiver thatprovides a 1 PPS pulse off by microseconds or possibly evenmilliseconds. In many applications, as in the Sirius XM SFN network, GPSpulses must occur within 10's of nanoseconds from true UTC time marks.Even best in class GPS receivers cannot guarantee such small positionalerrors under all operating conditions. The potential for faulty GPSreceiver operation must be accommodated in the PLL circuit design.

As discussed earlier, during initial signal acquisition, largepositional errors detected by the positional error detector can bediscarded. As the PLL finally achieves an initial lock on the GPSsignal, under proper GPS and PLL operation, subsequent large errorsshould no longer be present. Once the PLL locks onto the GPS signal andsuccessfully tracks frequency deviations, subsequent errors detected aretypically very small. For example, subsequent errors detected can beless than 8 clock edges for a 100 MHz clock frequency and less than 511for saturation detection.

Similar to the saturation detector 602, a false pulse threshold andfalse pulse count 701 can be provided as inputs to the false pulsedetection circuit 702. The false pulse detection circuit 702 differsfrom the saturation detector 602 in that it is only operational afterthe PLL has achieved lock status with the GPS signal. If during lock, anerror larger than the false error threshold is detected, the error isignored (zeroe d) and a counter is incremented. If at any time the erroris less than the threshold, the counter is reset to zero. If consecutivefalse pulses are detected, and the false count threshold is reached, thecircuit may declare that these pulses have enough consistency to bedeemed correct and can be subsequently used. Unlike the saturationdetector 602, with a much larger set threshold, no resetting of the PLLoccurs. The PLL attempts to use such pulses to achieve synchronization.This algorithm has proven to be very effective in handling arbitrarilylarge, erroneous 1 PPS pulses generated by the GPS receiver.

FIG. 8 shows PLL digital control word variations with time. Low powerSirius XM repeaters can be placed close to ground level. Unfortunatelysuch placement is not optimal for GPS reception. In dense urbanenvironments large man-made objects present the possibility of highlyattenuating and at times, completely preventing GPS signal reception.During GPS signal outage, the Sirius XM repeater is expected to continueoperation for a minimum of 1 hour, maintaining tight timing accuracy.The Sirius XM requirement is to maintain a timing accuracy with maximumdrift of 1 us in 1 hour. This is near stratum 2 timing quality. Anexemplary solution to this problem can be to utilize a local oscillatorthat is rated at stratum 2 quality. Unfortunately, this calls for theusage of extremely expensive components. The method described hereinavoids use of expensive components, utilizing lower cost oscillators(e.g., stratum 3 or lower), while maintaining the Sirius XM timingrequirements.

Typical oscillators, such as the OCXO, maintain long-term temperaturestability, varying only slightly over time. To maintain stratum level 1timing quality, short term fluctuations in the frequencies generated bythe oscillators need to be tracked and/or fine voltage control of theoscillator may be needed. To maintain stratum level 2 timing quality,short term fluctuations in the oscillator frequencies need not betracked and therefore, fine voltage control is not required. If examinedover a long time period, typical oscillators tend to have small driftsin mean center frequencies. For example, FIG. 8 depicts an OCXOoperating continuously over 90 hours while tracking a GPS signalgenerated by the GPS receiver. The mean value of the curve is seen tochange slowly over the long time period. This fact can be exploited ifGPS reception is lost for a significant period of time.

An exemplary approach taken to compensate for long GPS outages can be todevelop a prediction control voltage based on an oscillator's long termstability of locally generated pulse trains. Generally, oscillatorsexhibit a fairly linear control voltage trend over time. Therefore, pastcontrol voltage information can be used to formulate a simple y=mx+blinear curve fit that may closely follows the oscillator's behavior(e.g., local oscillator frequency) over time.

Low pass filtering of data corresponding to the curve in FIG. 5, mayshow that the oscillator behavior (e.g., oscillator frequency) remainsfairly linear over prolonged time durations (e.g., over approximately 10hour periods). For example, there may be no noticeable rapid rate ofchange of oscillator frequency over such long time durations that canspan several hours. To approximate a linear curve fit for this behavior,control voltages can be averaged over approximately ½ hour durations.For example, each ½ hour average can be entered into a table untilseveral measurements (e.g., eight) are accumulated. More measurements(e.g., over eight) can be averaged for greater precision. According toan exemplary aspect of this invention, eight measurements have beenfound to provide sufficient stratum level 2 timing accuracies. The eightmeasurements represent control voltage values over a first predeterminedtotal time duration of 4 hours. Using the eight measurements (e.g.,comprising data pairs of a respective time position and an averagevalue), a least squares, linear fit to the data can be calculated byusing equation (1) reproduced below:

$\begin{matrix}{{M = \frac{{n*{\sum{x*y}}} - {\left( {\sum x} \right)*\left( {\sum y} \right)}}{{n*{\sum x^{2}}} - \left( {\sum x} \right)^{2}}}{b = \frac{{\left( {\sum x^{2}} \right)*\left( {\sum y} \right)} - {\left( {\sum x} \right)*\left( {\sum{x*\; y}} \right)}}{{n*{\sum x^{2}}} - \left( {\sum x} \right)^{2}}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$wherein, M and b correspond to slope and intercept respectively of ageneral linear equation Y=Mx+bx that represents a running count of anumber of measurement averages used, ranging from 1 to n, where n is aninteger whole number corresponding to a number of averaged measurements(e.g., eight measurements).

Equation (1) can be simplified based on determining the number ofaveraged measurements (e.g., number of data pairs). For example, fordata pairs n=8, the equation (1) simplifies to:

$\begin{matrix}{M = {{\frac{\sum{x*y}}{12} - {\frac{\sum y}{42}\mspace{14mu} b}} = {\frac{\sum y}{2.4} - \frac{\sum{x*y}}{12}}}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

This simplification to the equation (2) lends itself to straightforwardhardware and/or processor based implementation as described below withrespect to FIG. 9. Hardware and/or processor based implementations canbe carried out by any type of computing device configured for wiredand/or wireless networked communications. Examples of such devicesinclude desktop computing devices, hand-held computing devices, servers,gateways, data storage devices, mobile cellular telephones, andnetwork-enabled objects that form part of the “Internet of Things.”

FIG. 9 shows a PLL circuit with prediction control logic 900. If the GPSsignal is lost, a flywheel detection circuit 904 determines absence ofthe GPS signal and triggers a corresponding loss of GPS signal 907. Thiscan cause the circuit 900 to use predicted control words forimplementing slew control via multiplexers (MUXs) 913, 914 and 915, andthe slew control circuit 703. The predicted control words can begenerated based on a linear curve fitter 908 that uses past controlvoltage information (e.g., control word 710) to generate a linear curvefit based on the equation y=mx+b for closely following the oscillator'sbehavior over time, as described earlier with respect to FIG. 8.

While GPS signal reception is uninterrupted, the flywheel detectioncircuit 904 does not trigger the loss of GPS signal 907 and the MUX 915uses a currently generated control word, such as the control word 910 atfirst terminal No, as an input to the slew control circuit 703.

If the GPS signal is lost before the circuit 900 has locked-onto and/orsynchronized with the GPS signal, the loss of GPS signal 907 triggeredby the flywheel detection circuit 904 causes the MUX 915 to use an inputsignal at second terminal Yes, comprising a most recently generatedcontrol word. The most recently generated control word is then sent asan input to the slew control circuit 703 for slewing the controlvoltages of the local oscillator.

If the GPS signal is lost after the circuit 900 has locked-onto and/orsynchronized with the GPS signal, the MUX 915 can use an input signal atthe second terminal Yes, comprising a second order term 909, generatedby the PLL 905, as an input to the prediction control logic via the MUX914. The second order term 909 is then used to determine a controlvoltage value that is provided to the slew control circuitry 703. Thesecond order term 909 can be an output of the PLL 905 when no input isapplied to the PLL 905. A value of the second order term 909 can bebased on an average of past positional errors scaled by the integralterm K2, shown in FIG. 3.

Moreover, special care should be taken when insufficient data has beencollected over a time duration that is less than the first predeterminedtime duration (e.g., less than 4 hours). For example, if data has beencollected for less than 4 hours of operation and/or a secondpredetermined time duration (e.g., more than 1 hour but less than 4hours), a predicted control voltage value may be inaccurate. As anotherexample, if the GPS signal is lost before sufficient data has beencollected over the first predetermined time duration (e.g., 4 hoursand/or 8 measurements have been averaged), and the PLL 905 has notlocked-onto the GPS signal, the PLL 605 can avoid using control voltagevalues generated by the predictor control logic, such as by the linearcurve fitter 908 and the MUX 914.

In such instances, the PLL 905 may use either a most recently generatedcontrol word or the PLL's second order estimate of the control voltagevalue, such as the second order term 909. The second order term 909 canbe an input to the MUX 913. A linear curve fit generated by the linearcurve fitter 908 would not be valid when insufficient data is collectedand the second order term 909, outputted from MUX 913, would be selectedby the MUX 914 for transport to the MUX 915 and thereafter, to the slewcontrol circuit 703.

If sufficient data has been collected (e.g., over the firstpredetermined time duration and eight or more measurements have beenaveraged), a valid curve fit signal 911 can be triggered causing the MUX914 to use an input from the linear curve fitter 908. A currentlypredicted control voltage value can then be fed back into the predictorcontrol logic. Excellent hold over performance for the circuit 900 overmany hours of operation and in spite of intermittent GPS signalreception can be achieved by taking into account a state of the circuit900 (e.g., if the circuit 900 has locked-on to the GPS signal frequency,an amount of time over which the data has been collected and a number ofmeasurements that have been recorded).

FIG. 10 shows predicted PLL digital control word variations overlaid onmeasured PLL digital control word variations shown earlier in FIG. 8.Values of the predicted PLL digital control words may follow the valuesof actual PLL control words to within an approximately 50 control worddeviation as shown in FIG. 10. Therefore, the prediction control logiccan enable prediction of control words that allow the oscillator totrack its mean frequency in a reliable and accurate manner satisfyingthe tight timing requirements of the Sirius XM SFN. Even when the GPSreceiver fails to receive the GPS signal and is unable to generate theUTC pulse train, the PLL circuit with prediction control logic switchesto predicted control voltage values in operating the oscillator andallowing the oscillator to maintain synchronization with the GPSreference signal until the GPS receiver begins to receive the GPS signalagain. Using this technique, randomly sampled oscillators maintain theSirius XM timing requirements for prolonged durations of time. Forexample, OCXOs with 10 PPB accuracy have maintained the timingrequirements for SFNs, such as the Sirius XM, for time durations as highas 4 hours.

FIGS. 11A-C show an exemplary process flow for maintaining repeatertiming accuracies during loss of and/or intermittent GPS signalreception according to some embodiments described herein.

At 1101, the repeater can be initialized and/or powered on.Initialization of the repeater circuits can include setting apredetermined initial control voltage for establishing an initialfrequency of the local oscillator. The oven associated with the localoscillator can start heating up to the desired operating temperature(e.g., approximately 75° C.) during this initialization period.

At 1102, the system may determine whether the GPS signal is present. Forexample, the system can verify whether the GPS receiver is receiving theGPS signal and/or generating the GPS UTC 1 PPS pulse train. If the GPSsignal is present, Yes at 1102, the system proceeds to 1103. If no GPSsignal is detected, No at 1102, the system proceeds to 1109. The systemcan use the flywheel detection circuit 904 as described earlier withrespect to FIG. 9 in determining presence and/or absence of the GPSsignal and generate the corresponding loss of GPS signal 907 forcontrolling selection of an input at the MUX 915.

At 1103, the system may receive a GPS pulse associated with the GPSreceiver output. For example, the system receives a UTC pulse. Thesystem may determine a first position in time, T1, associated with anarrival of the UTC pulse.

At 1104, the system may receive a local pulse from the local oscillator.The system may determine a second position in time, T2, associated withan arrival of the local pulse.

At 1105, the system can compare the first position in time, T1, with thesecond position in time, T2. For example, the system can calculate avalue for T1−T2 and/or T2−T1.

At 1106, the system can determine whether there is a timing offset, T,based on a value of T1−T2 and/or T2−T1 calculated in 1105. In someinstances, if a difference in value between T1 and T2 exceeds apredetermined threshold offset, the system may ignore such large offsetvalues that exceed the predetermined threshold offset and continuesampling more GPS pulses by proceeding to 1102. If the difference invalue between T1 and T2 does not exceed the predetermined thresholdoffset, the system may proceed to 1107 for using the difference in valuebetween T1 and T2 in controlling the frequency of the local oscillator.

At 1107, the system may generate a control word, such as the controlword 111 in FIG. 1 and the control word 910 in FIG. 9, based on thetiming offset determined at 1106. The control word can be sent to a DAC,such as the DAC 103, or to a multiplexer, such as the MUX 915 in FIG. 9.A control signal (e.g., the loss of the GPS signal 907) for the MUX 915can cause the MUX 915 to use the control word 910, on a first input tothe MUX 915, as long as no loss of the GPS signal is detected as shownin FIG. 9. In case there is a loss of the GPS signal, the control signalfor the MUX 915 can select a second input to the MUX 915. The secondinput to the MUX 915 can correspond to the second order term or thepredicted control word as described earlier with respect to FIG. 9. Anoutput of the MUX 915 is then sent as an input to the slew controlcircuit 703. The slew control circuit 703 can be connected to the DACthat generates a control voltage as input to the local oscillator.

At 1108, the system may adjust a frequency of the local oscillator basedon the control voltage generated at 1107. For example, the frequency ofthe local oscillator can be increased or decreased in order to reducethe absolute value of the timing offset T The system may then proceed tosample a next GPS UTC pulse at 1102.

At 1109, after detecting the loss of the GPS signal at 1102, the systemmay determine whether synchronization of the local oscillator pulsetrain with the UTC 1 PPS pulse train has been achieved. If the localoscillator pulse train has not synchronized with the UTC 1 PPS pulsetrain yet, No at 1109, the system may proceed to 1114 described later.If the local oscillator pulse train is synchronized with the UTC 1 PPSpulse train, Yes at 1109, the system may proceed to 1110.

At 1110, the system may determine whether the synchronization has beenmaintained for at least a predetermined duration of time. For example,if the system determines that the local oscillator pulse train hasmaintained synchronization with the UTC 1 PPS pulse train for at leastthe predetermined duration of time, such as 4 hours, Yes at 1110, thesystem may proceed to 1112. If the system determines that the localoscillator pulse train has not maintained synchronization with the UTC 1PPS pulse train for at least the predetermined duration of time, such as4 hours, No at 1110, the system may proceed to 1115 described later. Ifsynchronization has not been maintained for a sufficient duration oftime, the system may not have stored sufficient data associated with thegeneration of control words and/or a behavior of the GPS receiver.

At 1112, the system uses data associated with historically generatedcontrol words for generating a predicted control word. The historicallygenerated control words can include a plurality of control words storedin a memory of the system over a time duration that satisfies thepredetermined duration of time. A linear fit can be performed on valuesassociated with the historically generated control words for generatingthe predicted control word.

At 1113, the system adjusts a frequency of the local oscillator based onthe predicted control word. For example, the predicted control word cancause the local oscillator frequency to track an expected frequency ofthe GPS signal and/or maintain timing accuracies of the repeaters acrossthe SFN.

At 1114, after determining that the local oscillator pulse train has notsynchronized with the UTC 1 PPS pulse train in 1109, the system maydetermine whether a previously generated control word is stored in thememory. If the system locates and retrieves the previously generatedcontrol word from the memory, Yes at 1114, the system may proceed to1117. If the system fails to locate and/or retrieve the previouslygenerated control word, No at 1114, the system may proceed to 1102 andverify whether GPS signal reception has re-started and/or GPS signalreception is successful for sampling a next UTC pulse.

At 1115, after the system has determined that the local oscillator pulsetrain has not maintained synchronization with the UTC 1 PPS pulse trainfor at least the predetermined duration of time, such as 4 hours, No at1110 described earlier, the system may use the second order term as acontrol word input to the slew control circuit 703.

At 1116, the system may adjust the local oscillator frequency based onthe second order term. For example, the second order term functions asan input to the slew control circuit 703 which in turn can be connectedto the DAC for generating the control voltage input to the localoscillator. Variations in the control voltage input to the localoscillator can vary the local oscillator frequency and cause theadjusted local oscillator frequency to maintain synchronization with theGPS UTC pulses. The system can then proceed to 1102 and proceed tosample a next GPS UTC pulse.

At 1117, after locating and retrieving the previously generated controlword from the memory, Yes at 1114, the system may use the previouslygenerated control word for adjusting the local oscillator frequency. Forexample, the adjusted local oscillator frequency can maintain tighttiming accuracies and/or continue to maintain synchronization with theGPS UTC pulses. The system may then proceed to 1102 to determine whetherGPS signal reception has resumed.

Although the exemplary implementation discussed above involves a systemwith a GPS receiver receiving an intermittent GPS signal and a PLLlocking onto an output of the GPS receiver, the present subject mattercan be implemented in any SFN that relies on locking onto anintermittent reference frequency for maintaining timing accuracies.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by acomputing system, a Global Positioning System (GPS) signal;synchronizing, by the computing system, a local reference signal withthe GPS signal based on a plurality of control words; determining, bythe computing system, an amount of time during which the local referencesignal was synchronized with the GPS signal; after identifying aninterruption in the GPS signal, generating a predicted control wordbased on the plurality of control words and based on the amount of timesatisfying a first predetermined time duration; maintaining, by thecomputing system and via a feedback path, synchronization of the localreference signal with the GPS signal based on the predicted controlword; controlling, based on the predicted control word, a slew voltage;and adjusting, via the feedback path, a frequency of the local referencesignal based on the slew voltage.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining, by the computing system, that the amount oftime during which the local reference signal was synchronized with theGPS signal satisfies a second predetermined time duration less than thefirst predetermined time duration; generating, by the computing systemand based on the plurality of control words, a second order estimate ofthe predicted control word; and maintaining, by the computing system,synchronization of the local reference signal with the GPS signal basedon the second order estimate of the predicted control word.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the generating the predicted control wordcomprises: generating, based on the plurality of control words, a linearcurve fit.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: after thedetermining the interruption in the GPS signal, determining, an absenceof synchronization of the local reference signal with the GPS signal;and adjusting a frequency of the local reference signal based on a mostrecent control word of the plurality of control words.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising: maintaining synchronization of the localreference signal with the GPS signal based on the adjusted frequency ofthe local reference signal.
 6. A system comprising: a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) receiver configured to generate a GPS signal; and acomputing device including: at least one processor; and memory storingcomputer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the computing device to: receive, from the GPSreceiver, the GPS signal; synchronize a local reference signal with theGPS signal based on a plurality of control words; determine an amount oftime during which the local reference signal was synchronized with theGPS signal; after identifying an interruption in the GPS signal,generate a predicted control word based on the plurality of controlwords and based on the amount of time satisfying a first predeterminedtime duration; maintain, via a feedback path, synchronization of thelocal reference signal with the GPS signal based on the predictedcontrol word; control, based on the predicted control word, a slewvoltage; and adjust, via the feedback path, a frequency of the localreference signal based on the slew voltage.
 7. The system of claim 6,the memory further storing computer-readable instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the computing device to:determine that the amount of time during which the local referencesignal was synchronized with the GPS signal satisfies a secondpredetermined time duration less than the first predetermined timeduration; generate, based on the plurality of control words, a secondorder estimate of the predicted control word; and maintainsynchronization of the local reference signal with the GPS signal basedon the second order estimate of the predicted control word.
 8. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein the generating the predicted control wordcomprises: generate, based on the plurality of control words, a linearcurve fit.
 9. The system of claim 6, the memory further storingcomputer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the computing device to: after the determining theinterruption in the GPS signal, determine an absence of synchronizationof the local reference signal with the GPS signal; and adjust afrequency of the local reference signal based on a recent control wordof the plurality of control words.
 10. The system of claim 9, the memoryfurther storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed bythe at least one processor, cause the computing device to: maintainsynchronization of the local reference signal with the GPS signal basedon the adjusted frequency of the local reference signal.
 11. A methodcomprising: synchronizing, by the computing system and based on aplurality of control words, a local signal with a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) signal; detecting, by the computing system, a loss of theGPS signal; determining that the local signal was synchronized with theGPS signal before the loss of the GPS signal; continuing to maintainsynchronization, by the computing system, between the local signal andthe GPS signal based on the plurality of control words and based onadjusting a frequency of the local signal; determining that the localsignal was not synchronized with the GPS signal before the loss of theGPS signal; determining a most recent control word of the plurality ofwords; and adjusting a frequency of the local signal based on the mostrecent control word, wherein the adjusting the frequency of the localsignal is based on: determining an amount of time corresponding to ageneration of the plurality of control words; determining that theamount of time satisfies a predetermined duration of time; andgenerating a predicted control word based on the plurality of controlwords.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the generating the predictedcontrol word is based on generating a linear curve fit of the pluralityof control words.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the adjusting thefrequency of the local signal is based on: determining an amount of timecorresponding to a generation of the plurality of control words;determining that the amount of time does not satisfy a predeterminedduration of time; and generating a second order word based on theplurality of control words, wherein the second order word corresponds toan average value associated with the plurality of control words.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the plurality of control words are generatedbased on: detecting a plurality of timing offsets between the GPS signaland the local signal.